Google turned 25 years today. To think that I’m way much older than google that feels like it has been around since the 60s speaks volumes about its relevance and popularity.
The search company as it is popularly known was founded in September 1998 by Sergey Brin and Larry Page back then when they were still studying at Stanford University in California. Google happened to be their phD’s project and therefore was hosted on Stanford servers with early versions of the search engine accessible as a Stanford subdomain.
The idea behind the project, Google ,was looking for a way to index and find information on the growing World Wide Web. Being able to look up all sorts of information with a simple search query was unheard of until Google and its earlier competitors showed up. Google however scaled up when other competitor websites began referring to it with links. This reference further increased its credibility as as authoritative source.
In a bid to gain more credibility and affluence, Google started monetizing with advertisements in the early 2000s. Advertising which was free on its platform became paid according to criteria set up by Google. Advertisers could buy certain keywords that could be shown alongside dynamic search results.
In 2004, the company filed to go public with promises to improve the world even if were for long term gratifications. Hence the “ don’t be evil” slogan. In 2005, it bought an open source software company called Android which it finally launched in 2008.
In 2006, google purchased YouTube, a video content creation platform ushering in the era of “YouTubing”.
Speaking of Android software, Google has made great smartphones, tablets, available to the masses with all price ranges.
Recalling some of Google’s mind-blowing products which are free to use. They include the introduction of Gmail with 1GB of free storage.
Then there is the introduction of its own browser, Chrome, which quickly became the option almost everyone picks on their computer. Also, the Google maps, Google Now, Discover feeds, etc.
Along the way however, the company also had to make some hard decisions on the profitability of individual services. Many people are mourning the loss of key products like Google Reader, Google Plus, Inbox, Stadia and more recently, Google podcast will be shutting down in 2024.
